Brassica vegetable consumption shifts estrogen metabolism in healthy postmenopausal women

Previous studies suggest that the estrogen metabolite 16alpha-hydroxyestrone acts as a breast tumor promoter. The alternative product of estrogen metabolism, 2-hydroxyestrone, does not exhibit estrogenic properties in breast tissue, and lower values of the ratio 2-hydroxyestrone:16alpha-hydroxyestrone (2:16) in urine may be an endocrine biomarker for greater breast cancer risk. Vegetables of the Brassica genus, such as broccoli, contain a phytochemical, which may shift estrogen metabolism and increase the 2:16 ratio. Adding 500 g/day of broccoli to a standard diet shifts 2:16 values upward in humans; however, it is unknown as to whether healthy women are able to consume a sufficient quantity of Brassica to affect breast cancer risk through this mechanism. In this study, 34 healthy postmenopausal women participated in an intensive intervention designed to facilitate the addition of Brassica to the daily diet. The diet was measured by repeated 24-h recall, and estrogen metabolites were measured by enzyme immunoassay in 24-h urine samples. In a crude analysis, there was a nonsignificant increase in the urinary 2:16 ratio associated with greater Brassica consumption. With adjustment for other dietary parameters, Brassica vegetable consumption was associated with a statistically significant increase in 2:16 values, such that for each 10-g/day increase in Brassica consumption, there was an increase in the 2:16 ratio of 0.08 (95% confidence interval, 0.02-0.15). To the extent that the 2:16 ratio, as measured in urine, is associated with breast cancer risk, future research should consider Brassica vegetable consumption as a potentially effective and acceptable dietary strategy to prevent breast cancer

Urinary excretion of dithiocarbamates and selfreported Cruciferous vegetable intake: application of the ‘method of triads’ to a foodspecific biomarker

Objective: Greater intake of Cruciferous vegetables (e.g. broccoli) may prevent cancer at several sites. Urinary excretion of isothiocyanate conjugates (dithiocarbamates, DTC) provides a specific biomarker of Cruciferous vegetable consumption suitable for epidemiological investigations. However, no gold-standard referent is available for evaluating urinary DTC levels as an estimator of Cruciferous vegetable consumption. We compared urinary DTC levels to intake as measured by two selfreported dietary assessment techniques. Design: Cruciferous vegetable consumption was measured before and after a behavioural dietary intervention using multiple 24-hour recalls (24HR), a foodcounting questionnaire (VFQ) and urinary DTC excretion levels. Analysis included a structural equation approach (Method of Triads) combining these three assessment techniques to estimate the relationship between DTC level and the study population’s ‘true’ Cruciferous vegetable intake. Setting: The intervention curriculum assisted participants in consuming about 2 servings per day for a 6-week period. Participants attended four classes emphasising problem-solving skills, dietary counselling and vegetable preparation skills. There were no dietary restrictions. Subjects: Thirty-three healthy, free-living, post-menopausal women. Results: Although few participants reported Cruciferae consumption prior to the intervention, 30 participants reported Cruciferae consumption after the intervention (Post-intervention). Urinary DTC levels were correlated with estimated intake derived from either the 24HR (r ¼ 0:57; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.28, 0.76) or VFQ (r ¼ 0:49; 95% CI 0.17, 0.71). The validity coefficient (Method of Triads) between urinary DTC excretion and an index of true Cruciferous intake was stronger than the Pearson correlation (rv ¼ 0:65; 95% CI 0.35, 0.90), and comparable to estimates derived from the 24HR (rv ¼ 0:82; 95% CI 0.65, 1.00) or VFQ (rv ¼ 0:76; 95% CI 0.47, 0.92) method. These associations were not affected by adjustment for body mass index, energy intake, or social approval or desirability response sets. Conclusions: Food-frequency questionnaires (FFQ) suitable for large epidemiological studies may not be designed to measure all Cruciferae, and cannot capture exposure to phytochemicals derived from those vegetables. Urinary DTC measurement was significantly correlated with Cruciferae intake derived from two dietary assessment approaches, and urinaryDTC levels could supplement traditional FFQdata by providing an index of recent Cruciferous vegetable intake not susceptible to reporting biases

Maternal metabolic factors during pregnancy predict early childhood growth trajectories and obesity risk: the CANDLE Study.

BackgroundWe investigated the individual and additive effects of three modifiable maternal metabolic factors, including pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity, gestational weight gain (GWG), and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), on early childhood growth trajectories and obesity risk.MethodsA total of 1425 mother-offspring dyads (953 black and 472 white) from a longitudinal birth cohort were included in this study. Latent class growth modeling was performed to identify the trajectories of body mass index (BMI) from birth to 4 years in children. Poisson regression models were used to examine the associations between the maternal metabolic risk factors and child BMI trajectories and obesity risk at 4 years.ResultsWe identified three discrete BMI trajectory groups, characterized as rising-high-BMI (12.6%), moderate-BMI (61.0%), or low-BMI (26.4%) growth. Both maternal pre-pregnancy obesity (adjusted relative risk [adjRR] = 1.96; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.36-2.83) and excessive GWG (adjRR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.13-2.58) were significantly associated with the rising-high-BMI trajectory, as manifested by rapid weight gain during infancy and a stable but high BMI until 4 years. All three maternal metabolic indices were significantly associated with childhood obesity at age 4 years (adjRR for pre-pregnancy obesity = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.62-3.10; adjRR for excessive GWG = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.01-2.09; and adjRR for GDM = 2.14, 95% = 1.47-3.12). In addition, risk of rising-high BMI trajectory or obesity at age 4 years was stronger among mothers with more than one metabolic risk factor. We did not observe any difference in these associations by race.ConclusionMaternal pre-pregnancy obesity, excessive GWG, and GDM individually and jointly predict rapid growth and obesity at age 4 years in offspring, regardless of race. Interventions targeting maternal obesity and metabolism may prevent or slow the rate of development of childhood obesity

Diabetes and Prostate Cancer Screening in Black and White Men

PURPOSE: Prior studies conducted primarily among white men find a reduced risk of prostate cancer associated with time since developing diabetes. While biologic explanations are plausible, the association may in part arise from more frequent prostate cancer screening among those with a diabetes diagnosis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between diabetes and prostate cancer screening. METHODS: We examined differences in prostate cancer screening (prostate-specific antigen and/or digital rectal examination) testing practices after a diabetes diagnosis among lower-income persons living in the southeastern United States and enrolled in the Southern Community Cohort Study between 2002 and 2009. Baseline in-person interviews collected information on history of diabetes and prostate cancer screening from 18,809 black and 6,404 white men aged 40-79 years. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounding, diabetic black [odds ratio (OR) 1.12, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.25] and white (OR 1.25, 95 % CI 1.03-1.51) men were more likely to undergo recent prostate cancer screening compared to non-diabetic men of the same race. The increased risk for prostate cancer screening, however, occurred primarily within the first 12 months after diabetes diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a diabetes diagnosis modestly increases the likelihood of having a prostate cancer screening test for both black and white men. The prevalence of screening was higher nearer to the time of diabetes diagnosis, which may contribute to an early increase in prostate cancer detection followed by lower prostate cancer detection after an extended time

Racial differences in prostate inflammation: Results from the REDUCE study

Prostate cancer (PC) risk differs between races, and we previously showed prostate inflammation in benign prostate tissue was linked with a lower future PC risk. However, whether prostate tissue inflammation varies by race is unknown. We analyzed baseline acute and chronic prostate inflammation by race in REDUCE, a 4-year, multicenter, placebo-controlled study where all men had a negative prostate biopsy prior to enrollment. We included 7,982 men with standardized central pathology review to determine the presence or absence of chronic or acute inflammation in baseline prostate biopsy tissue. Logistic regression was used to compare prostate inflammation by race, adjusting for confounders. Of 7,982 men, 7,271 were white (91.1%), 180 (2.3%) black, 131 (1.6%) Asian, 319 (4.0%) Hispanic and 81 (1%) unknown. A total of 78% had chronic and 15% had acute inflammation. On multivariable analysis relative to white men, black men were less likely (OR = 0.65, 95%CI: 0.41-1.03

Evaluation of a Questionnaire to Assess Sedentary and Active Behaviors in the Southern Community Cohort Study

Low physical activity (PA) is linked to cancer and other diseases prevalent in racial/ethnic minorities and low-income populations. This study evaluated the PA questionnaire (PAQ) used in the Southern Cohort Community Study, a prospective investigation of health disparities between African-American and white adults

Serum Adiponectin in Relation to Body Mass Index and Other Correlates in Black and White Women

Adiponectin is a promising biomarker linking obesity and disease risk; however, limited data are available regarding adiponectin in black women among whom obesity is highly prevalent

The Influence of Obesity-Related Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms on BMI Across the Life Course: The PAGE Study

Evidence is limited as to whether heritable risk of obesity varies throughout adulthood. Among >34,000 European Americans, aged 18–100 years, from multiple U.S. studies in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Consortium, we examined evidence for heterogeneity in the associations of five established obesity risk variants (near FTO, GNPDA2, MTCH2, TMEM18, and NEGR1) with BMI across four distinct epochs of adulthood: 1) young adulthood (ages 18–25 years), adulthood (ages 26–49 years), middle-age adulthood (ages 50–69 years), and older adulthood (ages ≥70 years); or 2) by menopausal status in women and stratification by age 50 years in men. Summary-effect estimates from each meta-analysis were compared for heterogeneity across the life epochs. We found heterogeneity in the association of the FTO (rs8050136) variant with BMI across the four adulthood epochs (P = 0.0006), with larger effects in young adults relative to older adults (β [SE] = 1.17 [0.45] vs. 0.09 [0.09] kg/m2, respectively, per A allele) and smaller intermediate effects. We found no evidence for heterogeneity in the association of GNPDA2, MTCH2, TMEM18, and NEGR1 with BMI across adulthood. Genetic predisposition to obesity may have greater effects on body weight in young compared with older adulthood for FTO, suggesting changes by age, generation, or secular trends. Future research should compare and contrast our findings with results using longitudinal data